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Category Manager, Raw & Packaging Materials at Lafarge Africa Plc

Lafarge Africa Plc, a distinguished member of the LafargeHolcim Group—the world’s largest building and concrete solutions company—is seeking a highly accomplished and strategic professional for the role of Category Manager, Raw & Packaging Materials. As a publicly quoted company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Lafarge Africa Plc is dedicated to providing Nigeria with a comprehensive range of building and construction solutions, serving projects from individual home buildings to significant infrastructure developments.

This pivotal role offers an opportunity for a skilled individual to drive category performance and contribute to global category strategy within a multinational leader in the building materials sector.


🎯 About the Role

Job Title: Category Manager, Raw & Packaging Materials

Requisition ID: 15487

Location: Ikoyi, Lagos

The Category Manager, Raw & Packaging Materials assumes full accountability for the performance and strategic initiatives within their assigned category, both in Nigeria and in other countries where responsibility has been designated through the category charter. The Manager will actively participate in regional or global category management teams, representing the Country's interests and ensuring strategic alignment.


🔑 Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

The Category Manager’s primary responsibilities revolve around strategic category management, execution, and performance delivery.

Strategy and Execution

  • Category Performance: The Manager will participate in the management of cluster categories for the Lafarge Group, representing the Country in cross-functional teams and holding full accountability for category performance.
  • Strategy Development: The role requires developing sophisticated Procurement category strategies as a key member of the category management team. These strategies must be integrated and aligned with overarching global strategies and the broader Lafarge business objectives.
  • Savings and Efficiency: Driving the realization of targeted savings, supply efficiency improvements, quality enhancements, and process optimizations in Nigeria and other assigned countries, in strict alignment with regional and global strategies, is a core focus.
  • Project Initiation: Identifying saving opportunities and proactively initiating individual projects and initiatives across all operational levels.
  • Target Delivery: The Manager assumes complete accountability for delivering targeted bottom-line results for each category.

Reporting and Compliance

  • Reporting: Providing regular, concise reports and updates to local, regional, and/or global governing bodies (councils) as necessitated by strategic requirements.
  • Compliance: Ensuring the execution of the category strategy and agreed-upon actions within the Country. Where issues of compliance are identified, the Manager will systematically find and eliminate the root causes.
  • Process Management: Initiating and supporting the RFx processes locally as defined by category strategy. The Manager must ensure that the procurement initiatives tracking tool (PITT), where implemented, is meticulously kept up-to-date for all owned initiatives and projects.

Stakeholder Management and Alignment

  • Driving Initiatives: Proactively driving initiatives and projects, identifying, and removing potential barriers to successful completion.
  • Strategic Alignment: Ensuring that local strategies are fully integrated with and in alignment with the regional and global category approach and key Lafarge stakeholders.
  • Change Management: Aligning diverse stakeholders through focused and effective change management programs.
  • Global Participation: Where appropriate, the Category Manager will participate in regional or global category teams to ensure the successful implementation of strategy and the achievement of established targets and results.

🤝 Internal and External Relationships

The Category Manager will engage with a wide network of internal and external partners to achieve strategic objectives.

Internal Stakeholders

  • Functional and Manufacturing senior management.
  • Operational Management (e.g., Plant Managers, Financial management).
  • Global and Zone Category Management teams, where applicable.

External Stakeholders

  • All local and International Suppliers pertinent to the raw and packaging materials category.

🛠️ Required Qualifications and Experience

Lafarge Africa Plc seeks a candidate who possesses a proven track record in strategic procurement and demonstrated leadership capabilities.

Education and Experience

  • A B.Sc./HND qualification is required.
  • A minimum of five (5) years of experience in a strategic procurement role, such as category management or sourcing, with demonstrable exposure to supply chain management, complex strategic sourcing, and optimal procurement processes and standards.
  • Candidates with an Engineering or Operational background will have a distinct advantage.

Skills and Competencies

  • Cross-Functional Acumen: Demonstrated high performance in working effectively within cross-functional teams, possessing the requisite drive and energy to successfully deliver a challenging benefits and capability building agenda.
  • Communication: Excellent written and oral communication skills are mandatory, with the ability to communicate effectively and convincingly at all levels (including technical and operational) and across all functions in English.
  • Negotiation: Expert negotiation skills are essential for achieving optimal supplier agreements.
  • Risk Assessment: Proven ability to assess potential risks associated with supplier and market changes and integrate this assessment seamlessly with category and sourcing strategies.
  • Data Analysis: Demonstrated proficiency in the analysis and interpretation of complex data.
  • Problem-Solving: Proven ability to quickly identify problems, make sound judgments, and establish and implement effective solutions.
  • Organization: Highly effective time management, planning, and organization skills are necessary, including the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities and drive tasks to completion within fixed time-frames and pressured environments.
  • Collaboration: The ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams and build robust relationships across multiple functions, countries, regions, and diverse cultures.
  • Category Knowledge: Demonstrated broad understanding of the content, processes, and delivery channels within the assigned categories.
  • Resilience: Ability to effectively deal with ambiguities, conflicts, and adversarial relationships with professional composure.

Mobility Requirements

  • Flexibility for travel is required, both within the Country where applicable, and internationally when and where required by business needs.

️ Application Process

Interested and qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to submit their applications. Details on how to apply are provided via the dedicated career portal.

Click here to apply

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